TGO Challenge 2025

Day 8. Dalwhinnie to Glen Feshie.

Another perfect day. The café didn't open until 9.00 so I spent some time eating porridge and wondering whether to wait for it to open, in the end procrastination won and I wandered down the road for a second breakfast.

Dalwhinnie distillery 

I told myself that I could justify it as I wouldn't be having another café stop until Ballater. In the end I got going up the road and then along by the aqueduct to Cuiach Power station.

Pipeline to the power station 

I took a different route from here to the one normally used to Gaik and turned up the roadway by the pipeline and then climbed the hill by a nice track with a line of grouse butts.

The hills above Dalwhinnie 

The path continues over the hill but becomes indistinct and then nonexistent before it reaches the zigzag descent. This bit had been a nicely made stalkers path but obviously hasn't been used for many years.

Gaik

It does meet one of the very few bridges crossing the river in the glen and I had a long walk to reach the 'normal', bridgeless crossing.

Loch an t-Seilich

The Gaik estate is now owned by the same person who owns Glen Feshie and he has built a new road/track to connect them, it doesn't appear on the map so I took the opportunity to walk it and record its position.

Looking back to Gaik from the new road

There was nowhere reasonable to stay by the Allt Bhran, where I intended to stop so I carried on over to Glen Feshie to camp near the bothy which was busy with Challengers and also a school group who were camping as well.

Walking in to the bothy

Camp by the bothy

23 miles walked, 1100 meters ascent.